{"id":669304,"date":"2026-01-02T16:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/669304\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T16:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:18:13","slug":"critics-blast-frances-new-civics-test-for-foreigners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/669304\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics blast France’s new civics test for foreigners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n France\u2019s new civics test for citizenship and certain residency permits is “an added stress” applicants do not need, French civil rights groups have warned.\n <\/p>\n

From January 1st 2026, new applicants for certain types of French residency permits, or French nationality, are required to take a written 40-question civics test<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0language association Le fran\u00e7ais pour toutes et tous has warned that the new requirement is just “an added stress” for applicants.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson told France Info that \u201cWhen you\u2019re faced with questions asking you to define the rule of law, it stresses a lot of people out, even French people would find it stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: French government reveals full details of new civics test for foreigners<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Three versions of the new test exist, each adapted to the status the person is requesting: the carte de s\u00e9jour pluriannuelle (multi-year card), the 10-year carte de r\u00e9sident, and naturalisation (applying for French citizenship).<\/p>\n

Tests, taken at an examination centre using a computer or tablet, are 45 minutes long and involve multiple-choice questions (questionnaire \u00e0 choix multiples, QCM). Applicants must score at least 80 percent to pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: <\/b>How much will it cost to take the new French civics test?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

There are two types of question: 28 \u2018knowledge\u2019 questions and 12 in which applicants are given a scenario and must pick the correct response.<\/p>\n

It aims in particular to assess applicants\u2019 knowledge of the principles and values of the Republic, as well as the rights and duties of people residing in France.<\/p>\n

Le fran\u00e7ais pour toutes et tous has warned that applicants were panicking they would miss out on becoming French because they got a simple question wrong.<\/p>\n

“A person of Polish origin took a test directly at the prefecture and was asked which dessert was popular in France;” the spokesperson said. “<\/p>\n

“She said ‘pain au chocolat’. She came to us an hour later in a panic saying ‘I said pain au chocolat, but it’s not a dessert!’<\/p>\n

“She was afraid of being judged incorrectly and being denied citizenship because of a question like that,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The language association also raised concerns that some applicants who are unfamiliar with computers would struggle.<\/p>\n

Have you taken the new civics test? Please share your experience with readers in the comments section below or emails us at news@thelocal.fr<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France\u2019s new civics test for citizenship and certain residency permits is “an added stress” applicants do not need,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-669304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115826413443124267","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}